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PurposeThis study aims to interrogate dynamic asymmetric relationships between public debt and economic growth in Southern African Developing Communities (SADC), over the period 2000–2018.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) technique to analyse dynamic asymmetric relationships between public debt and economic growth, and the threshold effect at which public debt hampers economic growth.FindingsThe findings indicate that there is a significant nonlinear effect of debt on economic growth in SADC. The study discovered a debt threshold of 60% to GDP at which debt beyond this threshold deteriorates long-term growth. The low-debt regime was found to be positive and statistically significant, while the high-debt regime is detrimental for long-term growth. Fiscal policymakers ought to consider the adoption of well-coordinated debt policies that aims to strike a balance between sustainable public debt and economic growth, within a reasonable threshold target.Originality/valueThe study focusses on asymmetric and threshold analysis of public debt on economic growth in SADC using sophisticated panel smooth transition regression (STAR). This study provides rigorous empirical evidence within the SADC perspective in which previous studies have predominantly been confined in advanced economies.

PurposeThe primary purpose of the study is to analyse the asymmetric effects of public debt on economic growth, using secondary data over the period 1980–2018 in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis study estimated a Smooth Transition Regression (STAR) and Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach, using time series data to analyse the asymmetric effect of public debt on economic growth in South Africa.FindingsThe findings revealed a significant nonlinear relationship between public debt and economic growth in South Africa. The results showed an inverted U-Shape relationship, implying a significant positive influence of public debt on economic growth during the low-debt regime. While during a high-debt regime, public debt exerted a significant negative effect on economic growth. The study proposes that policymakers ought to consider targeting a sustainable debt threshold that would enhance efficient use of public finances consistent with long-term economic prosperity.Originality/valueThis paper asymmetries and threshold effects between public debt and economic growth in South Africa, through the application of dynamic nonlinear models namely, Smooth Transition Regression (STAR) and Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach. Studies on the relationship under examination have predominantly been confined in advanced economies. This study provides rigorous empirical evidence from the South African perspective.

Purpose: The study conducted an empirical examination of the link between capital flows and exchange rate by examining the relative influence of FDI and FPI on the exchange rates. Method: The study proceeded with the EGARCH model and the data sample covering the period from 1990-2016. The data were subjected to cross-country screening. The screening criteria are such that all the data that constitute capital in all sampled countries must have equal sample sizes. The measurement of capital flow in each of the sampled countries was restricted to two categories capital, namely, foreign portfolio investment (FPI) and foreign direct investment (FDI). Results: The research establishes that the behavior of capital flow volatility spillover of the sample countries' currencies exchange rate differs, with only South Africa's and Morocco's currencies revealing some slight similarity and existence of asymmetric volatility spillover from capital flows to exchange rate. Additionally, the study discloses that capital flows spillover has a considerable effect on exchange rate volatility than harmful spillover. The study also observed that positive shocks associated with capital flow volatility affect exchange rate value in Botswana more than capital outflow. Further positive capital flow spillover impending from capital inflow has a considerable effect on exchange rate volatility than the harmful spillover impending from the capital outflow. Further, the positive capital flow spill over impending from capital inflow significantly affects exchange rate volatility more than the negative spillovers that emanate from the capital outflow. Implications: This suggests that the monetary policy should consider options that can accelerate capital flow into the Moroccan economy. However, in South Africa for any given quantum of capital flow into the economy, the South African Reserve Bank must use instruments to affect stability; otherwise, the currency exchange rate could remain unstable. Thus, capital withdrawals out of the Egyptian economy will create domestic currency instability. Keywords: Spill-over, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), Portfolio Investments (PI), asymmetric, capital flow volatility, Exchange rate volatility.

South Africa lags behind among other developing and emerging market economies on business start-ups. Businesses that fail in a year is averaging between 50% and 60%, a figure quite high for a countr...

Several empirical works have yielded mixed and controversial results with regard to the effects of FDI on employment and economic growth. The primary focus of this study is to investigate the contribution of FDI to domestic employment levels in the context of the South African economy. The analyses of the study were carried out using the annual time series data from 1980 to 2015. The macroeconomic variables employed in the empirical investigation include employment, FDI, GDP, inflation, trade openness and unit labour costs. The study used secondary data from the South African Reserve Bank and Statistics South Africa database. The study estimated a Vector Autoregressive/ Vector Error Correction Mechanism (VAR/VECM) approach to conduct empirical analysis. However, the study also employed single equation estimation techniques, including the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) and Canonical Cointegrating Regression (CCR) models as supporting tools to verify the VAR/VECM results. This study provides strong evidence of a significant negative relationship between FDI and employment levels in the South African economy. Empirical analysis of the study suggests that the effect of economic growth on employment is highly positive and significant in South Africa’s economy. The study recommends that policymakers ought to invest more in productive sectors that aim to promote economic growth and development to boost employment opportunities in South Africa.

This chapter addresses the changes (finance, human resources management, supply chain management, and regulatory) that affect the growth, sustainability, and survival of SMMEs world. These challenges are common among SMMEs in every country. In order for SMMEs to achieve growth, sustainability, as well as survive in the competitive global market, SMMEs must deal with these challenges. This chapter also creates a conceptual model that addresses these challenges and provides solutions that can be used to improve SMME challenges. SMMEs from South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana were also discussed.

This chapter carries out extensive review of literature on the 4th Industrial Revolution. In the last decades, many stakeholders such as industries, governments, employers and employers' organisations, workers and their unions, and academics have expressed divergent opinion of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The 4th industrial revolution is the 4th stage of a mechanical movement process that began towards the end of the 18th century where mechanised production replaced manual production process. Research shows that the 4th Industrial Revolution brought about ‘disruptive technologies' such as artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, and 3D printing, which transforms social, economic, and political systems, often in unpredictable ways.

Innovation is one of the major instruments used to improve on the present position of an organisation. Innovation is a way of improving on the present market share while also enhancing competitive advantage for the organisation over its existing rivals. Innovation may be in the form of new products, or new services, or improvements to previous offerings. Innovation is the implementation of any new or significantly improved products (good and services), operational process (methods of production and services delivery), and new marketing methods (packaging, sales, and distribution methods), or new organisation or managerial methods or processes in business practices, workplace organisation, or external relations. Encouraging innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) plays the role of policy initiatives for stimulating growth and development at the local, regional, and national levels.

This book presents an opportunity to contribute to the intellectual exposition on land and to reconceptualize land and land policy in the ‘new’ South Africa (i.e. a democratic country after the end of apartheid).

Land and land-related issues were one of the factors responsible for colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. Thus, land has always been at the centre of shaping the interaction, events and transactions unfolding between the Global North and the Global South. Literature records a history of resistance against foreign imperialism and colonialism because of land security for the African indigenous population. In post-colonial Africa, land policies have taken the centre stage in the quest to redress the historical distortion of land, achieve sustainable peace, development and combat structural violence. This captures the South African experience. Indeed, changes in the land tenure system and land relations are part of the broader process of state-building, human capacity building, agrarian and sustainable development. The post-apartheid state therefore considers the implementation of land reform programmes as a matter of necessity. However, despite concerted efforts to use land reform as an instrument of change and development, land reform in South Africa, like its counterparts in Africa, has generated diverse contradictions and failed to achieve the governments’ targets and public expectations. Through historical conversations and unstructured interviews, this chapter interrogates the liberalization of land policy, examines the trajectories of land reforms in South Africa and particularly evaluates the state’s performance in the land reform project. This chapter finds that the reality of land reform in Africa has not achieved equity or redressed historical injustices, rather it has been driven by a neoliberal order that favours global capitalism and the logic of the market. Thus, a pragmatic approach is required for South Africa to redress land inequality and appropriate the gains of land reform.

South Africa is currently running inflation targeting monetary policy since the year 2000 solely to achieve price stability. However, the persistent depreciation of the rand is making keeping inflation within the stipulated band very cumbersome. The objective of this paper is to find the duration taken by price indices to respond to exchange rate fluctuations. A Recursive VAR was used to investigate exchange rate passthrough (ERPT) to tradable prices in South Africa. Using monthly data, we find producer prices contributing highly to inflation with an average of 22% of fluctuations passed to prices. Large and persistent ERPT, especially on import and producer prices accompanied by high wage demands and a depreciating currency, are worrying factors for South Africa. Policy makers are advised to consider targeting the exchange rate if inflation is to be kept under control

We analyze the impact of inflation, growth and exchange rate on unemployment in South Africa using annual data spanning 1980- 2017. Using the ARDL methodology we find that there is a negative longrun relationship between inflation and unemployment in South Africa and inflation is significant in explaining unemployment. Other variables of interest, economic growth and exchange rate are also significant in explaining unemployment. We use the findings of our study to propose that the South African Reserve Bank(SARB) should consider revising its objectives so that they can consider getting involved in targeting unemployment so that they help nurse the economy from the wounds of high inequality and poverty.

South Africa relative to its peers (upper middle income countries) suffers from high unemployment and sub-optimal economic growth. This study investigates the ‘marginal effects of employment’ with respect to real output and capital in South Africa, using annual data covering the period 1946-2015. It estimates the responsiveness of employment to real output growth and capital, employing the short and long-run dynamic interactions between these variables via the application of the VAR/VECM Johansen (1991) framework. The results show that there exists a statistically significant long-run co-integrating relationship between labour employment and real GDP growth. Marginal employment growth effect is positive; a one per cent increase in GDP tends to increase employment by about one third of one per cent. Employment adjusts consistent with expectations when it overshoots its structural relationship with other variables. However, real output tends to adjust contrary to expectations, implying significant diminishing returns to employment in the economy. Growth in capital impacts positively on output and employment. The study concluded that greater labour market flexibility and higher worker productivity is needed across all sectors of the economy.

This chapter examines the future of workforce planning in contemporary work organisations. Workforce planning is regarded as one of the essential human resource management (HRM) activities in recent times. The reason is that it gives indication on areas of needs and serves as the pillar for all HRM activities such as job analysis, recruitment and selection, training and development, remuneration/rewards, and promotion. A review of empirical literature reveals that workforce planning has a strong relationship with organisational performance as well as productivity. This chapter submits that HR metrics and workforce analytics can be used as a tool to improve organisational outcomes. To boost human activity, intelligence apps and analytics or cognitive analytics robotics could be adopted to improve HR's value to the business.

Orientation: The study seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of the determinants of self-employment within the context of black entrepreneurs. Research purpose: Given the unprecedented increase in self-employment, because of reduction in formal job opportunities in South Africa, the primary objective of this study was to probe the determinants of self-employment relative to being a wage earner among black people in Ladysmith. Motivation for the study: The study investigated the determinants of self-employment through the use of the logistic modelling technique as its primary focus. Research design, approach and method: The study employed both probability and non-probability sampling techniques. The convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to locate all targeted entrepreneurs while the systematic random sampling method was used to locate the wage earners. A total of 450 respondents were interviewed through face-to-face administered questionnaires. The data collected was statistically analysed, using SPSS to acquire the descriptive statistics and EViews software to obtain logistic regression results and the related diagnostic tests (Hosmer–Lemeshow test and Wald statistics). Main findings: All the variables, except for household income per capita, were statistically significant, indicating that they were plausible predictors of self-employment. Practical/managerial implications: Financial life skills and entrepreneurship training ought to be embedded in all learning programmes at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In particular, all young persons through whatever skills development programme – including those offered at in-service and/or work-related training – they are given access to, must be taught to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set. Contribution/value-add: A combination of skills development and guidance-based access to finance to targeted groups involving women, the young adults at schools and tertiary institutions and entrepreneurial adults are likely to reap significant outcomes.

Background: South Africa has made significant progress since the dawn of democracy in 1994. It registered positive economic growth rates and its real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increased from R42 849 in 1994 to over R56 000 in 2015. However, employment growth lagged behind GDP growth, resulting in rising unemployment. Aim and setting: Entrepreneurship brings together labour and capital in generating income, output and employment. According to South Africa’s National Development Plan, employment growth would come mainly from small-firm entrepreneurship and economic growth. Accordingly, this article investigates the impact unemployment and per capita income have on early stage total entrepreneurship activity (TEA) in South Africa, using data covering the 1994–2015 period. Methods: The methodology used is the dynamic least squares regression. The article tests the assertion that economic growth, proxied by real per capita GDP income, promotes entrepreneurship and that high unemployment forces necessity entrepreneurship. Results: The regression results indicate that per capita real GDP, which increases with economic growth, has a highly significant, positive impact on entrepreneurial activity, while unemployment has a weaker effect. A 1% rise in real per capita GDP results in a 0.16% rise in TEA entrepreneurship, and a 1% rise in unemployment is associated with a 0.25% rise in TEA. Conclusion: There seems to be a strong pull factor, from income growth to entrepreneurship and a reasonable push from unemployment to entrepreneurship, as individuals without employment are forced to self-employment as a necessity, survival mechanism. Overall, a long-run co-integrating relationship seems plausible between unemployment, income and entrepreneurship in South Africa.

Recent research has shown that in both developed and emerging market economies, the labour share of national income has exhibited a declining trend since the 1980s. Research investigating the problem of high unemployment in the South African economy has inferred that this problem arises partly because of past and current socio-political conditions, low rates of economic growth, labour market rigidities, globalisation and institutional arrangements. As the labour absorption capacity is rather low, many people are unable to earn an income from an engagement in the formal labour market. This is likely to have implications for the relative distribution share of labour and capital in the country’s national income. However, no recent published research has investigated this phenomenon in the South African context. Thus, this paper attempts to shed some light on the problem. Using yearly data from 1946 to 2013, the study employs the Kalman filter methodology within the standard Cobb-Douglas production function framework to investigate how labour and capital shares as well as total factor productivity have been behaving in this period. The results indicate that the share of total income going to labour has decreased over the long run, while that of capital has increased. Specifically, the share of capital increased from 3.1% in 1980 to 12% in 2013, while that of labour decreased from 91% to 83%. This reflects a rising income inequality and concentration of wealth, with output and income generation shifting to technological- or capital -intensive production requiring more skilled labour, a trend also observed in certain other countries.